(British) Asian Players?

Given our ownership, their foreign / marketing policy and the potentially massive Asian interest in Rangers' new found 'kook-min' status, there's never been a better time to get some more Asian players into our squad. But where are they to be found? I ask, not out of ignorance but more out of frustration at a question that in terms of British Asians, should've been asked and answered an awful lot more than it has been over the past couple of decades at the very least.

Sure, there'll be Asian prospects playing elsewhere in the world and Asia in particular. These might be interesting considerations but as yet untried and therefore unknown in the prem or anywhere near it.

The answer for us should be to source them from a rich seam of second and third generation British Asian talent playing at all levels in these countries. After all, all of our other 'recent' migrant communities are reasonably well represented in our football - but strangely not our Asians: neither the relatively insular Chinese nor the more outgoing sons of migrants from the subcontinent.

So is it a question of racist exclusion? Personally, can't see it myself, not just because we've got loads of players from everywhere else but more because talent equals money and money just ain't that particular.

Could it be then because our Asians simply lack the interest or talent to get involved? Well, from what I've seen from the subcontinentals, whilst cricket remains their first love, they're no less interested or talented than anyone else during their formative years. A certain Barvish I used to coach as a 15/16 year old and as skinny as he was short, was one of the most fearsome and effective holding mids I've ever seen - and he was just one of many such prospects. What happened to him? Dunno, Accountancy probably - to please his mum... but the truth is despite parental ambitions, many young Asians continue playing beyond their school years; and there are a fair few Asian-based clubs and leagues based in and around our major cities.

So that's about it from me at this point. I really have no idea why it is that our own Asians haven't found their way into pro-football. To think we've had a top flight boxer in Amir but with the exception of the unmentionable Zesh Rehman, no footballers, is a complete mystery to me.

Anyone care to attempt to explain such conspicuous absence?

 

Michael Chopra is on the move after his team got relegated. Not all that though. Then there are a surprising amount of Anglo-Filipinos in the Phillippines national team.

The reasons? Probably separatism as in Asian Sunday leagues, racism as shown by the usual idiot poster on here, and a preference in South Asia for cricket apart from in Bangladesh and East Bengal. Not many six foot plus centre backs going to be coming from there unfortunately.

Can't see South Asians making much of us being owned by a Malaysian or having a Korean playing for us either. Just as here in Europe there isn't much love lost between many Asian countries for historical, religious or political reasons. Japan-Korea, Malaysia-Indonesia, China-Japan and so on.

 

So we know about the cricketing preferences but that doesn't explain the separatist clubs and leagues whose very existence suggests a passion for football.

And what about those clubs and leagues? They've been around for years now, so surely there's a level of cream talent there that scouts and agents (even if originally Asian themselves) are bringing to the attention of pro clubs these days. If not, why not? Just doesn't make any sense at all.

 

Any (long term) potential with the new training complex and community facilities? Given the location and Mittal link may be possible to build something, especially if Mittal develops an interest. Read recently that he has invested £8m in development for potential Indian Olympic-medal winners (Amit is involved in the scheme).
But overall your comments are spot on Brix, the absence of South Asians in our game, at least at professional level, is odd and a little sad.
My lads team used to play against a virtually all Sikh team. Young kids at the time, but they had a couple of very good players. A couple of ours were training with local professional clubs, and I asked if any of theirs had been picked up. Response was they were very rarely asked ( twice over about 10 years) but they had doubts about things like diet, ability of the clubs to understand cultural differences, and distraction for the kids from their education.

 

So in Indonesia we're probably "fook-thim"

 

Thanks for that Stan.

Parental barriers relating to distraction from education is one I think we're all expecting to be the main reason. Yet there are so many examples of kids breaking with much stronger cultural traditions at great pain for all concerned. As if as a convenience to us here, such barriers to football - and as applied to the even more taboo case of women - were addressed in the film 'Bend it Like Beckham' where the necessary cultural bridge got built in the end. All a little too cosy maybe but surely not beyond the pail for contemporary blokes?

From your experience the greatest revelation for me really comes from the absence of interest in Asian talent from our clubs (and conversely the unusual lack of 'push' by Asian scouts and/or agents in this particular field): 'they were very rarely asked (twice over about 10 years)...'. We talk of British talent falling behind that of other nations and put it down to an increasing lack of opportunity in the face of imported quality. If true, and we've no reason to believe it ain't, the 'Asian talent' case here suggests a major miss by club scouts that strongly suggests this wouldn't be limited to UK Asians but other groups too - e.g. no hope kids from undesirable neighbourhoods too. There were some very talented kids playing around me in Kilburn back in the day. Never came across anyone who'd been scouted till I got to borough level in the suburbs.

As for Asian club concerns re. diet and cultural understandings by clubs. Hasn't been too much of a problem in other walks of life has it over the years? Sounds to me more like the sort of excuse we tend to make when embarrassed about having been blanked when the sweeties get handed round!

Plot thickens.

 

And over here, 'fook that'!

 

My personal experience is that at school (not so very long ago!) my Asian friends were just as talented as others, much more talented than me (not hard) and just as passionate about sport. They were however, very focused on their education, and their families were keen for them to go to university. Note, this is my personal experience and I am hesitant to make generalisations about whole people groups from my own experience, but thought it worth sharing in relation to the questions posed about British Asians.

I think an interesting study would be a wider class study of British footballers who 'make it'. My hypothesis (untested) would be that most are from traditional working class backgrounds and not many come from middle class families. In relation to the original question, if most Asian families are focused on more middle-class values (education etc), that might answer the question as to why there are not so many Asian footballers coming from the UK.

 

Excellent contribution young QPR - particularly the point about middle class interests in a football career necessarily including many Asians over here.

However, as said above, I think many working / underclass kids in southern English cities get overlooked for some reason. It was interesting to note in the days when there was much less inter-club transfer activity going on, the number of Rangers players from places like High Wycombe etc.. Almost none from inner-city areas at all. Don't think that's changed that much. Maybe parents from the upper end of what we called the working class were more caring, present and vocal (aka 'pushy') than those from the really poor areas.

Anyway, I digress! Cheers though.

 

Putting those two points together takes in and in some way explains the lack of non-middle class Asian lads scouted, i.e. those Bangladeshis etc. from Shoreditch, Bradford, Bolton and so on including the no-hopers featured in documentaries doing smack etc..

 

Imaz. How can you have an Asian Sunday League? are you saying it is restricted to Asians? If it is surely that is illegal.

The comment about separatism seems valid. if Asians wont join a good team because they feel more relaxed amongst their own they will never progress to greater things. Players improve by playing with better players. perhaps our new set up for youth football will change things for the club.

Years ago good players would often be found locally. As someone said High Wycombe was a good catchment area. In my youth I played alongside John Collins and Micky Barber who went to the R's and Pete Gelson who was a stalwart at Brentford and that was for a club in Acton. now it seems they scour the world for talent maybe because the ethnic mix has changed in the area.

 

What's illegal about it? Lots of minorities have their own league system.

 

As Watford_R rightly says there are loads of minority leagues. Once lived a year in Barnet and there definitely were Jewish leagues too up that way.

Quite Possibly's comment on middle class values rings true. Not many British Asian cricketers either all things considered. Maybe it's me but communities seem far more separated and judgemental than 15/20 years ago. Lived for three years in Forest Gate back in the early nineties and it seemed far less segregated than today. Too many religious nutters and too many EDL sympathisers make a toxic brew that keeps people sepatated than ever. Sad really, at the end of the day it's our responsibility to deal with the idiots.

 

Firstly, i grew up in Southall so I have a lot of 1st hand experience with this subject.

the BBC or C4 did a documentary on exactly the same subject and I believe Michael Chopra was involved. Basically, from what i can remeber it came down to racism from managers and owners of clubs.
A lot has changed since then, but that doesnt mean the ideas and beliefs of the (asian) families have....
Anyone from an "immigrant" background/ family (myself included) will instantly know what I mean.

As for the indivual leagues. I played for and against teams like Indian gymkana, who would get a crowd of over 300 for a usual Saturday game. There is an all Irish league and a greek league, who are all very well supported.

Like the OP says, there are most definately the asian players out there, not to sure they are given the equal opportunities or pushed by thier families as much.
A lot of guys that i played alongside, took the safer route of college and education instead of a gamble on Football. i guess its all about what you want atthe end of the day
I'm gonna stop rambling now......!!!

 

250 million Indonesians, 25 million Malaysians. Market wise the future isn't in Kuala Lumpur.

 

Imaz

I am not trying to get into a racial thing but if a white British only league was set up would you be comfortable with that. Surely that is against FA rules.

 

I dont think it has anything to do with racism, I remember Paul Ince trying to blame racism for him not getting a top job, of course it has nothing to do with the fact that hes a **** manager.

Clubs will take any player as long as they are good enough, black, white, brown, killers, rapists, woman beaters. It doesnt matter to them.

 

Plenty of White only leagues out there. Doubt very much if there is anything written that makes Asian or Jewish leagues a closed shop. As a teenager many years ago I remember playing against Spanish and Italian teams in London. They were all white.

I'm all for integration, should be made obligatory.

 

That would obviously be odd as White British is the majority demonym. There's no 'white only', 'black only' or 'brown only' league but jewish, muslim etc. leagues make sense to an extent in that they can adjust the season to fit around religious holidays.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Britis...on_football#List_of_British_Asian_footballers